Odell Beckham Jr. has no desire to be standing on the sidelines late in the fourth quarter Sunday in Cleveland wracked with anxiety watching the Giants’ defense close the show and save the day.

He knows this much:

The time for killer instinct is now.

“It’s about time for us to put one away,” Beckham said. “Let them sit on the bench with the warmers and their jackets and not have to even worry about coming back on the field.”

Beckham is right. It’s about time the Giants’ defense has a day when they can give thanks for Beckham’s offense.

“We know we haven’t played to our full potential, and we’re still coming away with wins,” Beckham said. “So, we just need to step it up in each and every way … put games away when they need to be put away.”

It is about playing to win, whether the opponent is 0-11 or 11-0. There must be no fear of failure.

“I think our focus is on winning, not really not giving a team a win,” Beckham said. “Our goal and focus is solely on the New York Giants and what we have to do.”

What Beckham and Eli Manning have to do is go for the jugular and be who they think they are and let the defense rest.

The Cowboys buried the Browns 35-10, and beat the Bears, Bengals and Packers each by 14 points. The Giants have yet to win a game by more than 7. The Cowboys have scored 30 or more points four times. The Giants have yet to exceed 28 points. They need a knockout instead of a split decision, if only for their self-esteem.

“We want that burden,” Victor Cruz said. “We want that responsibility put on us to close these games out and not have to put that much pressure on the defense to have them out there, and we’ll go from there.

“I really just think about how it changed my life forever,” he said. “In a sense it kinda put a shadow over everything else. But it is a moment that happened, and it was a good moment for me. I think about it in retrospect kinda, but not really on a daily basis.”

Dwayne Harris was a Cowboy that night.

“I looked up, and saw the whole stadium going crazy,” Harris said. “I didn’t know what happened until the instant replay. Had to be one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Will Tye watched it on TV.

“I didn’t believe it. … I was a Cowboys fan,” said Tye, then a senior at Stony Brook.

BeckhamShutterstock

Beckham has a good measure of respect for Browns cornerback Joe Haden.

“Excited about the opportunity to go against a premier corner in this league,” he said. “He’s pretty much got all the tools you need.”

Beckham will have family visiting this Thanksgiving. He won’t be cooking.

“I’m not cookin, I’m eatin,” he said.

The Cowboys-Redskins game will pique his interest.

“Two very relevant teams for us as far as our run for the playoffs, we need to best both of those teams,” Beckham said. “Just scoutin’, just see exactly what they’re doing.”